My Final Match
by Catherine Chen
Summary: It's horrendous, horrific, undignified, and uncivilized. It's passionate, heated, pure, and heartwrenching. But most of all, it is entirely inescapable. As much as they fight it, they can't deny it. A Dramione. Please Read and REVIEW!
1. A Disagreement After a Party: Jealousy

So I was reading Mrs. Dalloway, because I'm a good little English student and also because I like it and then suddenly…inspiration hits. These moments are always completely random, they catch me off guard, and then a new story is born. While this was inspired by Mrs. Dalloway, or to be more precise, the feeling I was in as I read it, it said to me Draco/Hermione and when I was done seemed to have some undertones of Revolutionary Road, though I've never actually seen Revolutionary Road so if it's completely different, don't complain to me. Random segway…who was thrilled that Kate Winslet won at the Oscar's and who loved her dress? (raises hand enthusiastically) Anyway, on to the story…after which you all will REVIEW!!! Right? Please….?

Much love, Cat

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"Just answer me one thing, Draco. Why did you have to do this to me? I would have been perfectly happy to go through my life unmarried, unencumbered, unburdened…"

"No you wouldn't have," he fired back, cutting her off. "Be honest with yourself and drop this false modesty or whatever you want to call it. Set aside your insecurity for a moment and approach this like someone with common sense," he continued ignoring her glare. "You would have been miserable, always wishing and hoping that some man would come along and when he did, when that man came along who could see past all of those barriers you put up and convince you he could make you happy, you would have married him," he shouted, the volume of his voice having escalated over the course of his tirade. His shoulders were tense and vibrating with the force of his anger and the harsh breaths that were quickly expelled from his lungs, restricted as they were in his contracted chest. "I couldn't have that. Damn it all to hell, but I couldn't have that!" he thundered, at once seeming like a man in complete control and one who had been caught by inescapable circumstance. He took a couple of deep breaths, struggling to calm himself or at least restrain the signs of his distress. "I don't flatter myself to think that I'm any different than the next man who would have walked along, at least to you that is," he said coldly, "but I was the man that you said yes to for better or worse that day on the steps of the cathedral and you would do well to remember it and you damn well better act like it," he finished, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders and hauling her up against him.

Hermione's eyes flashed in anger. "Don't you dare talk to that way, Draco. I'll do whatever the hell I please. This wedding ring on my finger does not make you my lord and master and I'll be damned if I let you order me about like a servant. I am not your chattel, your highness," she mocked, "and if you want respect from me you had better do something to fucking deserve it."

He opened his mouth to respond but she silenced him by covering it with her hand.

"I wasn't finished yet," she said imperiously. "I realize that when you married me you thought you were getting a little mouse so grateful for male attention, particularly from such a world-class womanizer as yourself, that she would be happy to cater to your every whim and overlook your indiscretions but let me tell you that I didn't appreciate your behavior either tonight, husband," she bit out, practically hissing through her teeth at the end of her rant.

"Hell, Hermione, I didn't even touch her, whereas you let him kiss your hand," he said defensively.

"I was only being polite and he was behaving in a perfectly gentlemanlike way which is more than I can say for you, with that low, seductive tone you use whenever you want to get your way."

A beat passed as they stared at each other furiously, their irrational jealousy melting away as they recalled the first argument they had that had sparked the initial attraction between them. He tightened his hold on her just as she tilted her head back and wrapped her arms around his neck.

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Ta da! You probably just want to me to get on with writing my old stories, but inspiration is a fickle mistress who deserts me whenever I try thinking about those other stories, so just be glad I gave you something to read. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter.

Much love, Cat


	2. A Kiss in the Library: Irresistible

This is an unrelated one-shot. I may add an ending to chapter 1 later if I feel like it. PLEASE REVIEW!!! Much love, Cat.

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"Malfoy," she murmured, smiling deceptively sweetly, "kindly stuff it."

His expression became shuttered and stern. "You cannot expect to erase it from the past simply by ignoring the fact that it happened."

"Not if you keep reminding me of it," Hermione mumbled, gathering her books and plopping herself down into one of the library's softer plush chairs, setting her papers and textbooks down with enough excessive force to cause Pince to narrow her eyes in warning. She mouthed a silent apology and breathed a sigh of relief when the librarian turned back to the book cards she was stamping.

Draco followed her to the chair and sank down with far more grace than a man of his stature had any right to. "Your unwillingness to acknowledge the fact that it happened won't change a thing. Besides, you can't honestly tell me that mine is not a kiss that...lingers..." he said softly, his voice taunting her with the memory of how she had lain awake reliving that moment over and over again in her mind.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, concentrating on only her breathing and not the exasperating, arrogant imbecile beside her and released it slowly. "Draco, get away from me," she said so pleasantly that he might have almost missed the meaning of the phrase if he hadn't heard the words.

"Ma chérie, how can this be? Is the little mudblood regretting trying to advance above her pitiful station in a nonacademic way? Or she just embarrassed at having entertained the thought that she could ever measure up to the standards of one of the purest wizarding families in existence?" he taunted softly. "Non, il est impossible," he murmured, the French phrases rolling easily off his elitist, pompous, slimy tongue.

Hermione turned away from him quickly in disgust, dropping her gaze to the book in her lap. "You make me sick, ferret," she hissed.

"Now, now," he admonished. "It isn't nice to call people names, mudblood. But I suppose your muggle parents wouldn't have taught you manners, would they? Il est incroyable qu'ils te laissent dans la société," he shot back in the same coolly disaffected tone.

She sucked in another deep breath, hanging desperately onto her temper, knowing that if she gave into her baser urges he would get exactly what he wanted out of her. Hermione Granger was in no mood to prove Draco Malfoy right at this moment and even less inclined to let him win, no, let him beat her at anything, even a simple argument. "At least my parents didn't teach me to be a conniving, unfeeling, close-minded, unredeemable, _cowardly_ bigot," she bit out slowly, making sure to articulate every word more than she usually did and lingering over the word cowardly as she knew that would be sure to needle at him.

Pleasing her greatly, she held his gaze as he swallowed his retort with effort, lifting his chin and pressing his lips together firmly. Hermione watched as he stood, and could almost feel the tension vibrating through him. Fully expecting him to leave without another word, she was shocked when he suddenly grabbed her roughly, lifting her half out of the chair as he had not chosen to bend down to her and he was already considerably taller than her even without the height disparity caused by the chair, and plant a bruising kiss on her lips.

It was the complete antithesis of their last kiss, this time hard and punishing. Draco was not seeking to worship and cherish but to hurt and control. His grip on her was loose but the arms wrapped around her were like steel bands. That was meaningless as she did not attempt to struggle in the slightest but instead clung to him despite the ferocity of his approach. In response he brushed his lips over hers lightly, as though he sought to sooth the tender flesh he had injured. As she arched her back to get closer to him he suddenly released her, leaving her to collapse once more into her seat in the most ungainly way imaginable, having to clutch the armrests in order to keep her balance and not tumble out of the chair.

She opened her eyes and lifted her gaze in time to see him sweep away, his robes billowing out behind him giving him the appearance of a large bat or an avenging spirit. Simultaneously a tremor of fear and a tremor of excitement ran through her as she thought of their next encounter.


	3. Revealing the Truth in the Den: Pain

I'm trying a different tactic with this chapter. Once again, this is not a connected story, it is a series of one-shots that all revolve around the theme of Draco and Hermione and their crazy relationship. PLEASE REVIEW!!! Much love, Cat.

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He barely glanced at her before his gaze returned to the papers spread out on his desk. "What was it you wanted, Hermione?"

She stiffened. "We're married, Draco."

"What a keen observation, my love," he drawled mockingly. "Was that all?"

Hermione gritted her teeth, digging her nails into her palms to keep from delivering a cutting retort. That was not what she had come here for. "Don't you think we should act like it?" she asked.

He pretended to look offended. "I thought we were, darling. Are you displeased with my nightly attentions? Should I try harder?" he questioned, while the amused look in his gray eyes belied his words, making it quite clear that he knew that wasn't the problem she had with their union.

"I don't appreciate your tone," she said sharply.

"I'm afraid I can't do anything to make you more receptive to the way I am, Hermione," he countered.

His words seemed weighted with deeper meaning. "This wasn't how you behaved when we were first married," she said quietly.

He sighed frustrated. "Why can't you just forget about that? Just be happy with the way things are now."

"You've reverted back to the horrible boy who used to torment me and you want me to be happy about that? You want me to…"

"Yes, Hermione. Yes, I want you to be happy about it. Yes, I want you to forget about what you thought you knew about me. Yes, I want you to leave me alone!" he shouted, his pent up frustration overriding his ability to compartmentalize.

She held her ground, her arms folded, waiting patiently.

"Do you want to know the truth? I married you for the sake of expediency. I was twenty-seven and expected to settle down soon and begin setting up a nursery. I've alienated all of my previous lovers and my family's actions had destroyed any possible connections with other suitable females. I knew that you thought yourself in love with me. You did an awful job of hiding it then and you do an awful job of hiding it now. Even as you stand there staring down at me coldly, I can see it in your eyes. No, my parents were not exactly thrilled, but they came around to the idea on the basis that with your intelligence we might be able to produce offspring worthy of the Malfoy family name even if they were tainted by nonmagical blood. And so I married you. Not because I came to fall in love with you in the space of a few months. Not because I came to see you as more attractive than I had before. I married you because I had to," he bit out, his shoulders shaking with the force of his anger, with the strain of supporting him as he finally revealed the truth to her.

Hermione was at a loss for words. Her lips felt dry. She ran her tongue over them. Her chest contracted painfully. She took a deep breath and felt the air flow into her lungs. The ache only grew worse. She blinked. "Thank you, Malfoy, for telling me the truth. There is no reason for you to come to my bedroom any longer. I have discovered that I am pregnant."

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OK. This one I am definitely going to finish.

PLEASE REVIEW!!!

Much love, Cat.


	4. Held Close: Healing

I could not sleep. I don't know why this suddenly popped into my head but it did. Again, it's not at all connected to the other chapters. This one is more about pain and being a little broken. I hope you like it.

As always, PLEASE REVIEW!

Much love, Cat

xxxx

"Draco! Draco! Oh, there you are," Hermione said, pasting on a falsely bright smile as she crossed the library to stand in front of where he sat looking into the fireplace. _She hated when he got into one of his moods like this. He went somewhere cold and dark, somewhere where she couldn't reach him._

"Draco? You didn't come to dinner. I was worried. I thought you might be working so I…" she paused as he bent in half and dropped his face into his hands. She sighed shakily, trying to keep the fear out of her voice. "It's me, darling," she murmured as she kissed the top of his head. She cupped his beloved fiercely sharp jaw in her hands and pressed her mouth to his tightly compressed lips. "This is Hermione. I am your wife and I love you. Come back to me. Come back."

His gaze focused, as though he had finally realized she was in the room with him. "Hermione?" he said hoarsely.

She took her hands in his, pressing a hard kiss onto them. "Yes, love." She said it as a statement not a question, knowing from experience that the last thing he needed now was to talk.

He said nothing as he pulled her onto his lap, burying his face into her neck.

"Shhh," she crooned. She shifted, rubbing her cheek against the top of his head as she stroked his back lightly. "I will never stop loving you."

He wasn't ready to talk. He sat stiffly nestled in her arms but she could feel him shaking slightly and she could feel her bodice growing damp. Her heart ached for him.

"Don't leave me, darling. I couldn't bear it," she whispered.

He lifted his head and brushed the backs of his fingers lightly across her cheek. "Never."

She wrapped her arms trustingly around his shoulders and let him carry her out of the darkness.


	5. Truth In the Library: Understanding

I don't know how you see Draco and Hermione and imagine they would have a normal relationship. I was inspired again so here's another installment in my series of random scenes that could happen in alternate timelines.

As always, PLEASE REVIEW!

Much love, Cat

xxxxx

"Don't struggle, my dear," her husband murmured quietly.

Hermione felt the familiar rush of anger and frustration welling up inside of her. "Draco, what have you done now?"

"Nothing much. Just a little potion," he said soothingly, crossing the room and crouching by the couch where she lay.

"How?" she asked, her voice heavy with resignation.

"I put it in your morning cup of tea this time," he said simply, playing with the soft tendrils of curly brown hair that framed her face.

He seemed greatly amused by the way they sprang back after he coiled them around his fingers. The man had an inexplicable fascination with her hair.

"You should be alright before the clock strikes," Draco continued, stroking her cheek. "I gave you a small dose. It should only last about another half an hour."

"Thank you, love," she answered dryly. Her tea had tasted sweeter this morning. She suspected he had added something to mask the taste of the potion. After breakfast she had retired to the library as usual and curled up on a couch with a book. It was her day off and with the unpredictability of her work she liked to maintain a regular schedule in her free time. A few minutes after settling herself on the couch, a curious heaviness had overtaken her limbs. Her husband was clever. It was an easy and effective way to restrain her.

Hermione looked up at him expectantly.

"Ah yes," Draco murmured, as if just remembering. He pulled a small glass vial containing a clear, colourless liquid out of his pocket.

"Veritaserum?"

He nodded, opening the vial.

Hermione parted her lips, allowing him to tip a few drops into her mouth. She closed her eyes as the potion entered her system, subduing her resistance. It was actually not an entirely unpleasant feeling if one was not trying to resist revealing a truth.

"What is your name?" he asked her.

"Hermione Granger."

"How long have we been married?"

"Three years."

"Did you break and then repair that vase in our bedroom?"

"Yes. It is unbearably ugly. But you said it was an heirloom."

He smiled.

"Hermione, why did you marry me?"

"Because I love you."

Draco fished in his pocket for another vial, opening it and giving her the antidote. He rose and gently kissed her on the forehead. "It should only be a few minutes longer until you can move again," he informed her before leaving the room.


End file.
